The Earth beneath Lynching Trees

“In this collection, Vaughan proves that to be profound, poetry need not be obscure. His poems focus on the ‘quite ordinary but tragic intersections’ that can occur ‘on any given day,’ with which all readers will readily identify. Throughout, the author’s faith is evident—faith in God, no doubt, but also faith that humanity, formed in God’s image, can learn, adapt, and endure. Enlightening and inspiring!”


—Ray Moore, author of Slavery, the 1619 Project, and American Education





“From a lynching in the south, to school shootings where the good die young, while holding aging love on a trip to the Ukraine and back, these are poems that grab the heart with a visceral truth that won’t let go.”


—Donna Marie Todd, author of Navigating Loss





“Ron Vaughan’s poetry weaves threads of hope into the tragedies, struggles, and losses of our lives, our time, and our painful history. He sees with a keen theological eye and a warm pastoral heart the power of forgiveness and love to bring healing to our personal failings and our social evils. In laying bare our grief, his poetry opens the way to redemption and life.”


—Lewis Galloway, former senior pastor, Second Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis





“Vaughan’s new volume of hauntingly evocative poetry addresses many of life’s experiences, from the horror of racism (poems from which the book gets its title) and the pain of war to the wonder of creation and the beauty and uncertainty of love. There are poems of doubt and faith and of abandonment and intimacy. Often poignant, breathtaking, enthralling; always creatively descriptive. This is a book to be savored.”


—Sally Woodard, retired Presbyterian minister